Published: Jul 23, 2023, 09:04 AM (IST)
Edited: Jul 23, 2023, 09:04 AM (IST)
AFTER the ODI series decider between India and Bangladesh ended in a thrilling tie at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Saturday, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur came down heavily on umpiring in the match, calling it “pathetic” while adding that she was “really disappointed” with some decisions.
In India’s chase of 226, Harmanpreet went for a sweep off Nahida Akter in the 34th over. But the Indian skipper missed the delivery and the ball seemingly went to slip off the pads. On Nahida’s appeal, the umpire raised his finger, leaving Harmanpreet furious.
In anger, she hit the stumps with her bat and exchanged a few angry words with the umpire before walking towards the pavilion. On the way, she showed a thumbs up to the crowd when she reached the boundary ropes.
“They (Bangladesh) batted really well, batted according to the situation. They were taking those singles which were very crucial. In between we leaked a few runs but when we were batting, we controlled the game very well. But as I mentioned earlier, some pathetic umpiring was done and we are really disappointed about some decisions given by the umpires,” said Harmanpreet in the post-match show.
As per an ESPN CricInfo report, Harmanpreet asked the umpires to join the Bangladesh team for the end-of-series photo, indicating that they were playing on behalf of the hosts. Offended at the comment, Nigar had a word with BCB officials and left the post-match show with the players.
Talking about the incident in the post-match show, Nigar hit back at the Indian skipper over her behaviour and told how her words made the Bangladesh team uncomfortable during the photo session which forced them to leave.
“It is totally her problem. I have nothing to do with it. As a player, she could have shown better manners. I can’t tell you what happened, but it didn’t feel right to be there [for the photograph] with my team. It wasn’t the right environment. That’s why we went back. Cricket is a game of discipline and respect,” she said.
Nigar also addressed the allegations around umpiring and said “The umpires wouldn’t give her out if she wasn’t out. We had umpires from men’s international cricket, so they were good umpires. What are they [India] going to say about the caught or run-out dismissals [of which there were six excluding the Harmanpreet and Meghna wickets]? We have respected their decisions. The umpire’s decision is the final decision, whether I like it or not. Why didn’t we behave in that way [like the India players]?”
(with IANS inputs)
